


Driving Home

by VMarsTrek



Category: Veronica Mars - Fandom
Genre: F/M, Love in the Time of Quarantine, Mutual Pining, No Beta, Only One Bed, TAP2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-04 22:00:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,137
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25183666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VMarsTrek/pseuds/VMarsTrek
Summary: Veronica finds herself quarantining alone hours away from home. Will LoVe find her again?
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Comments: 12
Kudos: 46
Collections: LoVe In The Time Of Quarantine





	Driving Home

Ding!

Veronica rolls onto over and picks up her phone. Papa Bear flashes across the top of her phone. She taps accept and the speaker

“Hey Papa Bear!”

“What’s up Soda Pop?”

“Oh you know, same old, tripping the light fantastic.” Veronica rolls her eyes to herself and picks up a take out menu, flicks it away remembering they downsized their menu. “How’s Neptune?”

“Oh, same old. You know those 09’ers complain that masks are infringing on their rights, when what they really mean is that….”

Ding!

Veronica clicks connect.

“Q!”

“Bond!”

“Wallace is here too. He was just filling me in on the latest 09er privilege.”

Veronica slips off her bed and shuffles over to the fridge searching for a pop and some snacks. The world it seems is on day five hundred and fifty billion (but really day one hundred and twenty four) of lock down due to a weird virus. Bacteria would have been too easy, not that overuse of antimicrobials is good, but a virus. 

And because idiots all over seem to think the rules don’t apply to them, when things just seemed to take a turn for the better, it got worse. Way worse. And now Veronica wishes she had taken that internship up in New Brunswick where that had ONE FREAKING DEATH!

She shuffles back to her bed loaded down with snacks, having upgraded her pop to a gin and tonic, listening to the banter between Wallace and Mac who are both in Neptune. And while Veronica isn’t all that far away, she couldn’t make it down from Stanford in time for the imposed shelter in place. So she is in her small, yet cosy apartment with food, and food delivery on speed dial. All. Alone.

“...and so I told the dude that he needed to back away from the cashier. Geez! What is going on with these people? V! Please tell me that it’s calmer up where you are?”

Veronica chuckles.

“Well, actually….I haven’t been out.”

“What?” She hears in unison.

“You mean this week, right?” Mac says a little louder.

“No. I mean since the lockdown. I had about six hours, so I hit Target on the outskirts of town. I still had to wait an hour in line, but I got what I needed for at least two weeks. I planned ahead and set up grocery ordering after that.” Veronica shrugs to herself, and drains her gin and tonic, smacking her lips.

Wallace speaks up next.

“So let me get this straight. You, miss, I can’t sit still, have willingly sheltered in place, ALONE for over four months?”

“YeP!”

Mac and Wallace burst out laughing.

“Seriously guys? It’s a pandemic!”

Ding!

Veronica mutters something about being saved by the bell.  _ Dick _ ? 

“Uh, hi Dick?”

“Hey Ronnikins!”

“Ummmm, hey. Mac and Wallace are on the call too, so welcome to the party.” She says blandly. She’s heard from him a few times over the past four months, but usually it’s an accidental butt dial.

“Ghostworld? Wally? How’s it hanging dude and dudette?”

“Yeah, don’t call me Wally.  _ Muffled Darryl get out of here! I’m on the phone! NO! Vee does NOT care about your new drone.” _

“So Dick, how are you making out in Neptune?” 

_ Everyone freaking got to shelter in place in Neptune except fucking me. I get stuck here. Ugh. My toes need painting. What colour, what colour. Red! YES! _

Veronica roots around in her drawer on mute listening to Dick drone on about his new surfboard that he can’t use because beaches are closed. He ordered and installed a Flo-Rider though so he gets to keep up his abs. Veronica eye rolls so hard she feels he felt that in Neptune.

Veronica paints her nails carefully, eyes almost crossed in concentration, and tongue between her teeth. She has no one to impress, obviously, as she is dressed in purple sweatpants and a loose white v neck t-shirt. She gave up on bras on day 12. She does shower every day so she is clean, and as are her clothes, though laundry is tricky in the building, social distancing and all, but she manages.

She holds her feet up over her wiggling them pleased with her result and so what if they clash with her purple sweats? Lilly would be proud! 

Veronica walks on her heels over to the kitchenette to make another G&T with a fancy rhubarb gin she found, imported from Canada, then heels her way back over.

“...then Logan flipped right OVER the middle! It was awesome dude! He didn’t even wipe out!.”

Mac snorts into the phone before yelling at her rats to stop chewing a cord. Wallace makes an uncomfortable clearing of the throat sound. Veronica just feels lonely.

Things are not  _ bad  _ per se, just not great. They broke up six months ago and are trying to make their way back to friends. They texted a few times, and spoke on the phone which was awkward and stilted and not at all how it should have been. She often got off the phone in tears because most of all she missed Logan as a friend.

But that was four months ago. She heard from him once since the lock down started. Once. He checked in on her to make sure she was ok and she receives mystery snack deliveries once a month which she suspects is him. But otherwise it’s radio silence. She would text him off and on, and she would receive weird emojis that she didn’t understand. 

A ding brings Veronica’s attention back to her phone. It appears to be on Mac’s end. 

“Uh, hey LOGAN. Welcome to the party that never stops. We have a group chat with Wallace, Dick and uh Vee.” Veronica can picture Mac nervously doing jazz hands. 

“Oh, hey everyone.” Everyone hears some shuffling and wheels. 

A round of heys flows through the phone before she hears his husky voice break through with a hey Vee.

“Hi Logan.” Veronica unconsciously moves to fix her messy bun, though they are not on video call. 

“DUDE! Where did you disappear to? That chick? Charisma? She was down to get down with all your bad self!”

“Ummm, Dick? You know you are supposed to be self isolating? Social bubbles of five?” Logan chirps in.

“Yeah. It was a party of 5.”

“But then that’s it. Otherwise you would need to self isolate for two weeks before choosing another social bubble of five. That’s why I haven’t been around.” 

Snickers are kept to a minimum, but Dick is quiet as the information sinks in.

“Ohhhhh…”

“Yeah, there it is.” Veronica snorts and laughs so hard no sound comes out. 

“Vee?” She rolls off the bed.

“Vee!” Tears are streaming down her face.

She gasps for air.

“OMG. That. Was. Hilarious!”

“Uh, ok. What are you on Vee?” Wallace asks tentatively.

Veronica giggles.

“Veronica?”

“Canadian Rhubarb gin and tonic for the win!” She cheers no one and drinks. 

Through the phone everyone hears cars and an ambulance.

“Logan is that you?” Mac asks.

“Uh, yeah. Grocery store.” 

Veronica forehead in thought as she recognizes  _ that  _ Logan voice. He is hiding something. While she is thinking, an ambulance speeds by her apartment. Odd. She taps her chin in thought.

“Ok, sorry to cut this short, but the four of us have to go eat supper.“ Wallace pipes in.

“Four, Wallace. You have a girl I don’t know about that you are bunkering down with?” Veronica asks.

It’s quiet for a minute.

“Uh….”

“Wallace…..”

“No not for me, but mom, well….”

“WALLACE FENELL!”

“Ahem…..I call top bunk?”

“No, nononononononononono.” Veronica holds her head. Not once in four months has her father mentioned that he has been sheltering in place, in lockdown, bunkering, getting down and dirty obviously with ALICIA FENNEL!

_ Great. Global pandemic and my father is getting some, and I’ve been dry for months. That’s why I have gin.  _

Veronica starts to feel hot and stifled so she wiggles out of her sweatpants. She figures why not? She’s alone.

“Ok Papa Bear. You win. Top bunk. Say hi to my dad for me.” Veronica sighs into the phone.

Everyone starts laughing.

“Bye guys. Keep safe.” Wallace clicks off.

“So Macster! Want to social bubble with me?” Veronica can hear the gag from Mac and giggles. 

“Uh, I’m good just yet Dick, but, um thanks for the offer.” Mac is obviously trying to keep laughter out of her voice. “So Logan, what have you been up to?”

They hear some clicking and rolling. “Uh, well I finished some course work and started preliminary work on a masters thesis. C.S Lewis, Tolkien and the Bible. I’ve been swamped with research, but my first draft is submitted, early, to my advisor, so I’m on down time for the next while.”

_ So maybe he wasn’t ignoring me so much as buckling down. Who is this Logan? Masters thesis? _

“Anyway. I’m where I need to be so I need to go. Mac. Dick. Vee, talk to you soon.” Logan clicks off.

“Well guys, thanks for the chat. I’m going to finish my drink and head to bed. Got a busy day tomorrow of napping and day drinking. TTYL!” Veronica clicks off and tosses the phone onto her nightstand.

She lays back on her bed knees up, feet planted on the bed. Her hair hangs over half of her face as she swirls her drink.

There is a low knock on her door. And she looks up. It might be the Sephora order she splurged on, new purple eye shadow because clearly she’s going out. 

She hears the knock again, a little more urgent. Odd. Fedex, usually only knocks once and it’s unlikely the new lingerie,  _ because Lilly _ , she ordered this morning arrived.

Veronica gets up and tiptoes to the door. She looks out the peephole and when she doesn’t see anyone, she unlocks the door and cracks it open. Looking down she sees a snack basket, an extra large one too, so she takes a tentative step out into the hallway to get it.

In the corner of her eye she sees movement, and realizing she is only in her underwear, goes to move inside, when an arm reaches out to grasp hers.

Glancing up she looks into dark chocolate eyes she’s missed dearly these past few months.

“Logan? What are you doing here?” She says stumbling into her apartment.

“I missed you Veronica.” He’s following her inside, casting off his Captain Picard Make it so mask. Veronica can’t help but smile.  _ Such a nerd. _

“But we need to social distance!” Veronica stomps over to her bed, arms over waving in the air, cle\ly forgetting she’s wearing very little.

“Veronica, I’ve been in my house, alone for two weeks. I just drove up here, stopping at the grocery store. I called Mac to check in on my house, because Dick, well, Dick.” Logan’s gaze goes from from her head to her feet and back. “But I can leave.” He turns to go.

Veronica bites her lip.  _ He looks gooooood. No, nononononono. Don’t go there. _ She has been lonely, four months is a long time without face to face companionship, and he did drive all this way…

“Logan, wait, stay.”

“Are you sure Veronica?”

“Yes, you drove all this way for me, and honestly? The company would be appreciated. But there is only one problem.” 

Logan waves his hand in a go on motion.

“There’s only one bed!” She says gleefully.

Logan leaps at her tackling her to the bed, a round of tickling follows. 

A few minutes later, out of breath, Veronica is tucked into Logan’s side. She feels tears streaking down her face and tries to get them before they hit him, but miss.

“Hey,  _ hey _ . What’s this?” Logan scoots down to look her in the face, kissing her tears softly.

She tries to talk, but ends up sobbing into his shirt instead.

“Shhhh, it’s ok, I have you. It’s been hard on everyone, but I know we are all in Neptune so it feels, I don’t know  _ different _ . That’s why I came, it just took me longer than planned.” 

Veronica nods against him and whispers, hating to sound so needy. “So you’ll stay?”

“Yeah, I’m staying for the long haul, so long as you’ll have me. Forced reconciliation?” 

“I like that. A lot actually. I’ve… missed you Lo. As a friend so much, but more. And our texts and phone calls are..”

“I know, it’s hard. We’ll try it slow, as slow as we can in a loft apartment with a king sized bed.”

She looks him in the eye. “I love you Logan.”

Logan looks at her, unbelieving what he just heard. “Oh, Vee. I never stopped.”

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



End file.
